Exploring visual journalism

Washington

As part of a broader plan by Nature Conservancy to restore the pine forests of the Central Cascades so they are more resilient to wildfires and climate change, the nonprofit environmental group is cutting down trees to save the forest.

A wreath laying ceremony was held Tuesday at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War. In 2012, President Barack Obama signed a presidential proclamation declaring March 29 Vietnam Veterans Day.More

An early morning explosion in Seattle Wednesday, caused by natural gas, sent multiple firefighters to the hospital, none with serious injuries. It reduced several businesses to rubble. Crews were responding to reports of a natural gas leak when the explosion happened along the main thoroughfare of the city’s Greenwood neighborhood, north of downtown, Seattle Fire Department spokeswoman Corey Orvold said.

Even as homelessness declined slightly nationwide in 2015, it increased in urban areas, including Seattle, New York and Los Angeles, and Seattle now has the third-highest number of homeless people in the country. The city’s voters have agreed to tax themselves four separate times since 1986 to pay for affordable housing. The mayor recently proposed raising another $290 million with another housing levy on the November ballot.